Chillicothe residents pack City Council chambers in show of support, Lucky Dog gets loan

CHILLICOTHE — The City Council approved a low-interest loan to a local couple who want to buy the old Pizza Hut restaurant on Fourth Street and turn it into a full-service, late-night bar against the fervent wishes of its closest neighbors.

The vote was 8-0.

The Lucky Dog lives.

“We’ve been overwhelmed at the level of support for this business. The phone calls, the emails,” said Dennis Luckett. He and his wife, Sandy, have proposed to buy and renovate the years-vacant building into the Lucky Dog Pub and Grill. “It took me an hour-and-a-half to get out of Kroger on Saturday.”

More than 100 residents packed Monday’s City Council discussion and vote on the HELP loan, a city-backed 2 percent interest loan intended to create businesses and jobs in Chillicothe. The crowd was no surprise; the topic had been much discussed in the last couple of weeks in the city. The surprise came when resident Chris Cassidy asked for a show of hands.

“Who’s here to support the Lucketts (the couple asking for the loan to buy the bar)?” he said.

What felt like just about everybody in the hot, crowded room with the steamed-up windows raised their hand.

Three residents spoke in opposition to the loan, saying they feared a bar in their neighborhood would bring unwelcome noise and other disruptions to their quiet, family-friendly ways of life. The area is zoned commercial, and a bar and restaurant is an approved use of commercial property.

Many more stood in support of the Lucky Dog. Sandy Luckett has run a restaurant in Chillicothe for decades and has dedicated followers of her menu and cooking. She most recently operated the restaurant inside the Chilli Bowl but began looking for a new location when it was learned the longtime bowling alley was set to close this week.

“Sandy Luckett never ran a restaurant that caters to drunks,” said resident Joanne Leroy.

“Chillicothe needs this restaurant,” said resident Deb Williamson.

Tazio Grivetti, who lives on Beech Street with his wife and five children directly behind the old Pizza Hut, urged the council to consider two votes — one approving the loan to the Lucketts, another encouraging them to look for a different location more suited to their business.

“This is not a popularity contest between the (loan) applicants and the people most affected (by the bar),” Grivetti said. “Do we have to expect that anything can move next to your house because anything can move into a commercial zone?”

Grivetti said afterward that he and his neighbors would pursue other options that include buying the building themselves, and moving out of Chillicothe.